No matter the family, no matter the holiday, there will always be one member who is impossible to buy for.
Though they are loved, these family members befuddle the natural process of Christmas shopping. New York Times Best-Sellers and Blu-Ray Seasons of “Breaking Bad” evade their interest. They don’t wear jewelry, and presenting them with a gift card will appear impersonal.
Fear not, if Northern Virginia Magazine can’t find the impossible gift for said relatives, we will make one up. Happy hunting.
The environmentally conscious relative
Every December, gratuitous gift-giving grows suddenly awkward when the one relative acutely aware of the size of their carbon footprint announces that your wasteful gift wrap has expanded it exponentially.
Assuage their angst with recycled wrapping paper from Green Field Paper Company. The San Diego-based company even uses soy-based dyes to limit your gift’s impact on the planet.
The politically expressive relative
About an hour into a peaceful family gathering, this is the person that shatters the felicitous moment with a well-timed, politically divisive statement.
Divert them early with a subscription to Audible. The audiobook service has more than 150,000 titles, including from various political figures, guaranteeing this relative can hear how right they are for the rest of the night.
The Hoarder
The reason this relative is so tough to shop for is because they already have it all. Like a Depression-era grandparent, they hold on to everything, sometimes six of everything.
The enabler route: A Furby, McDino Changeables, a copy of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out (without the Nintendo to play it). The intervention route: Check out our list of organization specialists at northernvirginiamag.com/home-design-resources –Carten Cordell
(December 2014)
